Burglar and fire alarm



UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

DANIEL H. TALBERT, OF KNIGHTSTOWN, INDIANA.

BURGLAR AN D FIRE ALARM.

SJPE(3111"IGA'LIIIOJSI' forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,181, dated March 22, 1898.

Application filed October 29, 1897. Serial No. 656,837. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL H. TALBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knightstown, in the county. of Henry and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Burglar or Fire Alarm, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to burglar and fire alarms, its object being to provide a simple and efficient device of this character consisting of few parts and which will be operated through suitable connections between the doors or windows of a dwelling or outhouse.

With this object in view the invention consists of the several details of construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagram showing the manner of connecting my improved alarm to a door and window. Fig. ,2 is a perspective view of the alarm, the front of the casing being removed and the top elevated to show the interior arrangement. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section.

Similar reference-numerals indicate similar parts in the several figures. I

'1 indicates a casing, which may be of any desired size and'is adapted to be secured to a Wall or other fixed supportin any convenient manner. It is preferably provided with a hinged top 2 and will be open at its lower end.

' 3 indicates an alarm-bell which is'secured to the front 4 of the casing at its lower end. The bell will be provided with a push-button 5, which when pushed inwardly will cause the hammer to vibrate and sound an alarm, such bells being now well known and in common use.

6 indicates a lever which is pivoted near its lower end on a rod 7, the latter being secured in the sides of the box in such manner that in its normal position the lever will lie substantially parallel with the front of the casing and close to its inner face. A pin 8 is secured in the lever near its lower end, preferably by a threaded connection in order that it may be adjusted, and is provided with a thumb-piece 9 on its inner end to facilitate its adjustment. The pin is easily accessible through the lower open end of the box. The pin projects forwardly from the lever through an opening 10 in the front of the casing and is designed to be in contact with the push-button 5 of the alarm-bell.

11 indicates weights which are arranged side by side at the rear of the casing, and these weights are suspended by means of cords 12, which are connected to the upper ends of the weights and lead therefrom to different rooms or to an outbuilding and are connected to the door 13 and window-sashes 14 in such rooms, as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter, the connections being so arranged that when the doors or sashes, respectively, are closed the weights will be entirely within the casing.

One or more rods (indicated by 15) may be secured in the sides of the casin gin front of the weights to guide the latter and maintain them in a vertical position. The rear edge of the top of the casing is cut away for the passage of the suspending devices, or it may have a series of perforations for the same purpose. The suspending devices respectively pass through a screw-eye 17, secured in the back of the casing immediately above the Weights when they are in their normal position, and a flexible wire or cord 18 leads from each of the suspending devices just above the screweyes and is connected with the upper end of the lever 6 in any preferred manner, or the connections 18 may, if preferred, be connected directly to the weights, as is obvious.

An indicating device 19, such as a letter or numeral, will be formed on the lower end of each weight in order that it may be exposed when the weight drops. These indicating devices will preferably be luminous, so as to be easily distinguished in the dark, and the object of providing these indicating devices is that the person interested will be informed in which of the rooms or outbuilding the door or window is being improperly opened or where the connections have been destroyed by fire or otherwise.

The cords 12, which suspend the weights 11, are taut and readily breakable under a slight strain, although they are of sufficient strength to suspend the weights under normal conditions. The cord which leads from each weight is designed to run around the sides of the room above the window and door casings and be supported in a series of screw-eyes 19, the

end being of course firmly secured. A cord or wire 20 of much greater strength than the cord 12 is connected to each sash or door in the room, and these cordspass through screweyes 21, secured in the respective door or window casings and lead up to and are connected to the cord 12, the connection being between two screw-eyes 19, arranged close together, as clearly seen in Fig. 1. There will be a hook and eye or other readily-detachable connection between the cords 12 and the doors and window-sashes in order that they may be disconnected when necessary.

The operation of the device is as follows: Then a window sash is raised or a door opened, the connect-ion leading therefrom to the weight-s11spending cord will pull 011 the latter and break it and thus permit the weight to drop, and as the weight drops it will draw the flexible wire or cord 18 through the screweye 17 and thereby rock the lever on its pivot and through the medium of the pin 8 operate the push -button 5 and sound an alarm. As the occupant of the house will be able to see the indicating character on the weight even in the dark he will at once know what window or door is being tampered with. In the event of fire the cords 12 will quickly burn through and thus permit the weights to drop, and the fire may be readily located; but the cords may be severed or otherwise disconnected by the opening of a door or the raising or lowering of a sash, so that the weights will respond quickly.

It is obvious that any number of weights may be used and that each one of such weights will independently operate the alarmbell. It is also obvious that the suspending device can be connected to doors or windows in outbuildings as well as to doors and windows in the dwelling to which the alarm is located.

1 have indicated in the drawings and described the preferred manner of connecting the weights to the doors and windows; but it is to be understood that I do not restrict my invention to the specific manner of connecting them, as such connections may be made in other ways.

The alarm-bell may also be utilized as a door or call bell by connecting othercords or wires (indicated by 22) to the upper end of the lever G and leading them to a push-button or a bell-pull at the door or other convenient or desirable place. This, however, while a desirable is not an essential feature of my invention.

It will be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is- 1. In a burglar and fire alarm, the combination of a weight, a flexible device, such as a cord, connected to a movable object such as a door and to the weight to suspend the latter, an alarm, and a lever fulcrumed between its ends and having one end connected with the weight and provided at its other end with an adjustable device arranged to engage and operate the said alarm, substantially as described.

2. In a burglar and fire alarm, the combination of a casing, an alarm-bell having a push-button mounted on the casing, a lever pivoted between its ends and provided at one end with an adjusting-screw arranged to engage the push-button, a weight connected with the other end of the lever, and means for connecting the weight with the door or window and for suspending it, substantially as described.

3. In a burglar and fire alarm, the combination of a breakable cord or connection, a pair of supporting devices receiving the breakable cord or connection, a weight connected with the breakable cord or connection and suspended by the same, an alarm mechanism adapted to be operated by the falling of the weight, and a flexible device of greater strength than the breakable cord or connection attached to the same at apoint between the supporting devices and designed to be 9 connected to a door or window, whereby the connections between the door or window and the weight will be broken when the former is opened, substantially as described.

l. In a burglar and fire alarm, the combination of a casing, an alarm-bell mounted thereon and provided with a push-button, a vertical lever fnlcrumcd between its ends and having one end arranged to operate the pushbutton, a series of vertically-disposed weights arranged within the casing, horizontal rods forming guides for the weights, eyes 17, flexible connections attached to the weights, passing through the eyes and designed to be connected with doors and windows, and short flexible connections extending from the weights to the lever, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' DANIEL lI. TALBERT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES M. MAXWELL, JAMES XV. SIMMONS.

ICC 

